“A major culture change is necessary. Your help is needed, and at the same time you can help your football team,” Rawlings told the crowd attending the football game between Jefferson and W.W. Samuell High.

Students at Woodrow Wilson High School say the lure of the big lights is a big one. “Everyone wants to play there. It’s Cowboys stadium,” said Da’Montae Bright.

Young people at the school are also familiar with domestic violence. “My mom actually experienced some domestic violence,” explained 17-year-old Alex Caballero. “Not with her but with her parents, so growing up she always taught me never to put my hands on a woman.”

For some young men, the athletic program may be the one opportunity to learn. “We have so many kids in Dallas Independent School District who come from one parent families,” said DISD athletic director Jeff Johnson. “Our coaches… are in many cases the only male role model they may see in their lives.”

While a pledge may just be words on a webpage, Mayor Rawlings hopes it makes DISD players think twice about the men they want to grow up to be.